H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goodsThis week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.

This unsettling discovery was made by graduate student Cynthia Magnus outside the back entrance of H&M on 35th street in New York City. Just a few doors down, she also found hundreds of Wal-Mart tagged items with holes made in them that were dumped by a contractor. On December 7, she spotted 20 bags of clothing outside of H&M including, "gloves with the fingers cut off, warm socks, cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor, men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.”

The New York Times points out that one-third of the city's population is poor, which makes this behavior not only wasteful and sad, but downright irresponsible. Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, acted surprised that these items were found, claiming they typically donate all unworn merchandise to charity. When reporters went around the corner from H&M to a collections drop-off for charity organization New York Cares, spokesperson Colleen Farrell said, “We’d be glad to take unworn coats, and companies often send them to us."

After several days of no response from H&M, the company made a statement today, promising to stop destroying the garments at the midtown Manhattan location. They said they will donate the items to charity. H&M spokeswoman Nicole Christie said, "It will not happen again," and that the company would make sure none of the other locations would do so either. Hopefully that's the final word...

I used to work for Wal-Mart, and they used to donate said goods to shelters, etc. until the companies who made said items sent them a cease and desist order. The big ones were Purina and Iams, who said that they didn't like the fact that Wal-Mart was giving away their dog food to local animal shelters, and said they'd rather those companies pay for the food and let WM throw their dog food in the trash. Same thing with the clothing.

"The basic plot is that Donna Speir and Hope Marie Carlton, the two undercover DEA agent Playboy Playmates from the last movie, are still running around in jungle shorts, cowboy boots and spaghetti strap T-shirts, firing their machine guns at drug smugglers, Filipino communist guerrillas, and corrupt federal agents while their two friends, Lisa London and Miss May 1984 Patty Duffek, lounge around the pool a lot and talk on speaker phones that look like fax machines."-Joe Bob on SAVAGE BEACH

This kind of thing ticks me off! They have perfectly good stuff they can't get rid of, so instead of just donating it to people, they destory it?! Come on! Where's the love? Oh right! This is Wal-Mart we are talking about.

"Tonight, we will honor the greatest writers in America with a modest 9 by 12 certificate and a check for three thousand dollars...three thousand dollars? Stephen King makes more than that for writing boo on a cocktail napkin." - Jimmy Breslin

I think targeting Walmart is slightly, and only slightly, unfair. The companies who made this stuff most likely demand it be destroyed and as these companies allow Walmart to own society, they will do what the companies want.

A unified front by Walmart as a whole to allow a percentage of discarded clothing to be donated would be a start and would keep the companies at bay. But we're talking about putting millions on the line, so you can forget it would ever happen.

The big ones were Purina and Iams, who said that they didn't like the fact that Wal-Mart was giving away their dog food to local animal shelters, and said they'd rather those companies pay for the food and let WM throw their dog food in the trash.

I would much rather buy food from Purina (which is overpriced anyways) if I knew that they'd donate the unsold items to an animal shelter. We had to stop buying Purina for our dogs because it just got too expensive. Now we buy the No Name brand.

Logged

Set out runnin', but I take my time.A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.If I get home before daylight, just might get some sleep. Tonight.

I used to work for Wal-Mart, and they used to donate said goods to shelters, etc. until the companies who made said items sent them a cease and desist order. The big ones were Purina and Iams, who said that they didn't like the fact that Wal-Mart was giving away their dog food to local animal shelters, and said they'd rather those companies pay for the food and let WM throw their dog food in the trash. Same thing with the clothing.

That's pretty much what I assumed was the case as soon as I read the headline. It probably costs Wal-Mart MORE to throw stuff away than to give it away, so I doubt that'd be their first choice in any case.